Booths-a chain of upscale supermarkets like Waitrose in the UK or Esselunga in Italy-has found itself at the center of a mega-fraud over beef sold as ‘best British beef’ but coming from South America.
The investigation is extended to about 1.3 million documents on purchases made by the retailer in the past three years. (1) It is time to reflect on the need for reforms and the use of public blockchain to prevent food fraud.
1) UK. The giga-fraud on meat, 2021-2023
NFCU-the National Food Crime Unit, part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA)-had previously declared investigations into a fraud involving packaged meats, sliced meats, and deli products arriving from South America and Europe but supplied to a retailer and labeled as British.
‘The supermarket chain was notified the same day we took action against the food company suspected of fraud and immediately removed all affected products from its shelves’ (Andrew Quinn, NFCU, deputy head).
2) ‘Reassurances’ are not enough.
The ‘reassurances’ offered by the deputy director of the National Food Crime Unit, unfortunately, are not enough.
2.1) Collaboration and responsibility of the retailer
Retailer Booths, according to NFCU reports, ‘continues to work closely with the investigation to advance the case against the supplier.’ (3)
The food fraud under investigation, however, appears to date back to supplies that began in 2021. Therefore, it appears legitimate to ask:
- What supplier qualification procedures have been adopted by the distributor?
- What audits were conducted by the distributor on the supply chain?
- What documentary checks and audits have been conducted in two years on commodities at high risk of fraud (see Sec. 2.2)?
2.2) Food fraud and food safety
‘This is not a food safety issue but a matter of food fraud’ (Andrew Quinn, NFCU, deputy head). But how can it be ruled out after the fact that thousands of deliveries of animal products subject to fraud (and false claims of traceability) did not present food safety risks?
In fact, food fraud is registered in theRapid Alert System on Food and Feed (RASFF). Whose annual report 2021 reports to:
- 407 notifications of suspected food fraud in EU, up 17% from previous year,
- meat ranked first among food-related frauds, with 50 total notifications. (4)
3) Meat safety and fraud, the precedents
The most memorable crisis in British cattle husbandry –
Mad Cow disease
– dates back to the 1990s. It was caused by the use of dangerous animal meal in cattle feed in the UK and spread throughout Europe due to the widespread lack of registration of supply chain operators, and official controls. Other notable cases to follow:
- 2013,
horse-meat scandal
. Horse meat-even from racehorses, which are unfit for food production because of the veterinary drugs used-mixed with beef and also used as ingredients in a myriad of products, including those of large industries, - 2011-2017, Hepatitis E. Outbreak caused by fresh pork from Germany and Holland sold by Tesco. A serious and widespread crisis, not even notified to the RASFF system, (5)
- 2017, carne fraca. A giga-fraud on Brazilian meat, with physical and microbiological contamination, marketed in Europe and globally, (6)
- 2018,
fausse viande française
. One third of the 2,000 inspections carried out by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) revealed false claims of traceability and origin of meat, (7) - 2019, Brazil, mad cow disease. OIE (now World Organization for Animal Health, WOAH) confirmed tests on carcass samples taken from two farms 1,500 km apart. (8) In February 2023, another case of BSE triggered import bans.
- 2021, Canada, mad cow disease. An isolated case, hopefully. (9)
4) Fraud and sustainability of supply chains
Sustainability of supply chains takes on particular relevance in the incoming beef sector from South America because of the vicious cycle between deforestation of virgin forests and grazing areas.
Some retailers Europeans-Groupe Casino, Carrefour (10,11)-and financial institutions have already been called to account for the lack of due diligence on Brazilian meat sustainability.
5) Food fraud, reforms needed in Europe.
This case demonstrates how-despite the high risk of fraud and precedent-neither retail nor veterinary authorities are still able to prevent and intercept criminal activities that go on for years in a timely manner. Self-control measures and official controls have failed, once again.
Beyond the verification of the responsibilities of the distributor-whose duty it is to ensure full compliance of the goods sold with the applicable legislation (12)-the need for reform, at the European level, is emphasized:
- the regulation of food fraud, which is still subject to variously ineffective national schemes,
- Member states’ responsibilities and procedures for the operation of the RASFF (13,14),
- The limits imposed by the EU legislature on the exercise of class actions. (15)
6) Blockchain, a possible solution?
Criminal activities on meat recur cyclically and affect local farmers first and foremost. Who-unlike their competitors across the Atlantic-are increasingly investing substantial resources to ensure food safety, animal welfare and sustainability. (16)
Public blockchain systems can ensure traceability, food safety and sustainability-and thus, food integrity-of the most vulnerable foods (17,18). And it is in this direction, in fact, that the Food Traceability Rule introduced by FDA in the US in December 2022 moves. (19) What else to wait for?
7) Mandatory indication of origin and provenance of meat
Last but not least, it reaffirms the need to review the mandatory indication of origin and provenance of meat, which is still lacking:
- at the EU level, in excluding products that contain meat as a primary ingredient (meat preparations, meat products),
- nationwide, in the omertà about the origin of meat fed by communities (food service, canteens, catering). (20)
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Aby Kay. Booths named as retailer embroiled in beef scandal. https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/booths-named-as-retailer-embroiled-in-beef-scandal Farmers weekly. 10.3.23
(2) Booths named retailer involved in possible food fraud case. https://www.farminguk.com/news/booths-named-retailer-involved-in-possible-food-fraud-case_62232.html Farming UK. 11.3.23
(3) Danya Bazaraa. Booths is named as supermarket chain caught up in row over South American meat sold as ‘best British beef’ – 10 years after horsemeat scandal. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11845127/Booths-named-supermarket-caught-row-South-American-meat-sold-best-British-beef.html Mailonline. 10.3.23
(4) European Union (2022). 2021 Annual Report, Alert and Cooperation Network. doi:10.2875/328358 See 3.3, fraud notifications
(5) Dario Dongo. Hepatitis E, sausage epidemic. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 23.8.17
(6) Dario Dongo. Brazil, operation ‘weak meat’. Veterinarians bribed by giants and fake health certificates on beef and poultry meat forexport. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 20.3.17
(7) Dario Dongo. Traceability and origin of meat, widespread fraud in France. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 14.9.20
(8) Dario Dongo. Mad cow in Brazil,export blockade in China. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.9.21
(9) Dario Dongo. Mad cow in Canada. China, South Korea and the Philippines block imports. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 24.1.22
(10) Dario Dongo, Elena Bosani. Brazilian meat from deforestation, Groupe Casino sued in France. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 18.7.21
(11) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. Brazilian meat from deforestation, BNP Paribas and Carrefour under indictment. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.11.22
(12) Dario Dongo, Pierluigi Copparoni. Distributor responsibilities, insights. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.5.18
(13) Dario Dongo. Fipronil and fraud in the EU, the bluff. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 30.9.17
(14) Dario Dongo, Giulia Baldelli. Food fraud, an unsolved problem. ‘EU Food Fraud Network’ report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 30.4.19
(15) Dario Dongo, Giulia Torre. Class action, new EU directive approved. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 4.12.20
(16) Marta Strinati. Filierba, the grass supply chain for sustainable and more nutritious meats, designed by UniTo. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.3.23
(17) Dario Dongo. Blockchain agribusiness, from Walmart to FDA in the US, Wiise Chain in Italy. Toward Web 3. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.2.22
(18) A public blockchain system can track the material flows of goods and be supplemented with random analysis, on the various distribution channels, to verify the DNA of meats. V. Margit Cichna-Markl, Isabel Mafra (2023). Techniques for Food Authentication: Trends and Emerging Approaches. Foods 2023, 12(6), 1134.
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12061134
(19) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. Food traceability in the US market, new rules kick off. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 21.11.22
(20) Dario Dongo. Origin of beef in restaurants, the draft decree law of the L’Italia Zootechnica Consortium. Detailed analysis. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 27.5.17
Dario
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
